Deschamps second list, now it gets real for Les Bleus

Deschamps unveiled his second list as head of France, as always with these lists some surprises by who made the list as well as those off the list. The list:

Gardiens : Landreau, Lloris, Mandanda
Défenseurs : Clichy, Evra, Jallet, Koscielny, Rami, Réveillère, Sakho, Yanga-Mbiwa
Milieux de terrain : Cabaye, Capoue, Diaby, Gonalons, Matuidi, Mavuba, Valbuena
Attaquants : Benzema, Giroud, Gomis, Ménez, Ribéry, Payet

The surprises that were included - Landreau, Reveillere and Mavuba.

Landreau - the former French international appeared to be in purgatory after he was dropped for Mandanda just before the Euros in 2008. Landreau was always seen as the "next" keeper for Les Bleus, I remember watching him come up the ranks for Nantes back in the day. He had his moments but for France might always be remembered for giving up against Scotland in a Euro qualifier. It is an interesting move from Deschamps, I am not sure that Landreau will really threaten Lloris as the #1 and is he really someone you want as your #2, not that he is not up to the task, but he is also no spring chicken (granted 33 is not "old" for keepers). Or is this a move to shake things up, send a message to his team that no position or player is guaranteed a spot?



Reveillere - This was a surprise to me because I am not sure where the Lyon player slots. The 32 year old right back is behind Jallet and Debuchy, the fact the Lille right back is absent might be the main reason for this call up. Yet it appears to me that Deschamps will lean on Jallet to man the right side until Debuchy and Sagna are back in form, so where is the need for Reveillere? Why not call up a player such as Corchia for cover on the right side?

Mavuba - A surprise for me because he did not show case very well against Uruguay, I realize that was a small sample size. I am surprised that Deschamps went back to him rather than call back a Diarra or even M'Vila. I know on the latter DD stated that the fact the Rennes midfielder was in flux with regards to his club was what left him out...but that is a weak reason.


It is good to see Menez back in the list, I think he will shore up the right side of the offense. And if paired with right back Jallet, you might get some advantages since they both play for PSG together. The big question is whether or not Deschamps will look to roll out a 2 man attack again. It was just short of a disaster against Uruguay...but he also does not have a real #10 playmaker without the likes of Nasri, Gourcuff or even Ben Arfa. However, the return of Cabaye should have a huge upside for Les Bleus and the midfield.

At first blush I look for the following:

Lloris in goal.
Jallet on the right, Clichy on the left, with Kos and Rami paired in the middle (although do not discount Mbiwa getting a look)
Diaby and Cabaye as the holding players
Ribery on the left and Menez on the right...and this is where it gets tricky...I think he will roll out Giroud and Benzema again, looking to Benzema as a fake #9 and seeing him float deeper in the formation. If he does not go with 2 strikers could we see a three pronged attacking midfield of Ribery, Valbuena and Menez?

Lots of questions leading up to Sept 7th!

Allez les Bleus!!!

Sagna out at RB for Les Bleus - Debuchy #1

After this weekend's Arsenal clash, France right back Sagna suffered a broken leg which will keep him out of the Euros for sure. This paves the way or at least makes it easier, for Lille's right back Debuchy to get the starting nod for Les Bleus. Lauren Blanc will be announcing his short list of players over the next few days, look for the Frog's thought on that in a later post, but the right back slot looks certain. Without Sagna in the picture, Blanc will most likely take Debuchy and Reveillere as his two options to man the post. The question becomes who will start, my vote is for the more offensive minded Debuchy. Sagna's injury could have another result, the Arsenal man might lose his spot as France's #1 right back if Debuchy has a good tournament as well as boost the Lille players value on the transfer market.

Blanc plays it safe - 1 nil to Les Bleus?

The biggest concern for Le President is who will be his right back, as Sagna is recovering from an infection. The Gunner cannot go, then the Lyon right back  - Reveillere will most like slot in on the right side of the defense. Not a big drop off since the Lyon player has regularly seen action for Les Bleus.

The other news for Les Bleus is that it appears Blanc will opt for "ole faithful" the 4-2-3-1. With the following:

Lloris
Evra - Kaboul, Abidal - Reveillere/Sagna
Diarra - M'Vila
Ribery - Nasri - Malouda
Benzema

Malouda will apparently slot to the right wing, which is a bit of a surprise to me considering Blanc has three natural right wingers on his roster - Menez, Valbuena and Remy. His two left sided players will be on the pitch at the same time - Ribery and Malouda. It would appear that starting both might limit his options or perhaps he assumes he will take out Ribery and slot Malouda on the left and bring in a right wing or just swap Malouda for a right wing. It just appears a bit forced to me that he has moved Malouda to the right side. Now it could be that with Reveillere as the right back, Blanc will hope that he and his former Lyon teammate, Malouda, have some degree of understanding. Couple this with the fact Malouda has greater defensive discipline that the other options at right wing, and Revelliere tends to push high on the pitch, Blanc maybe looking for a more defensively disciplined right side.

I am a bit surprised at the very defensive minded formation - 2 true holding midfielders - that Blanc appears to be favoring. Granted he might be thinking that if he can play this formation and score a goal on Albania, that he then has options to switch to a more defensive formation later on to protect the lead, or just rotate offensive players, knowing he has a strong defensive core. Alternatively, if he is chasing a goal after 60 minutes he could easily bring in a Martin for one of the holding players and switch to a hybrid Spanish: 4-1-4-1. Or even swap out Malouda for a Gameiro and push up higher on the pitch.

Les Bleus should win this match regardless of a 4-2-3-1 or a 4-1-4-1, but I do not think the match will be easy. France have never found away trips to Albania to be picnics. Assume the pitch will be heavy, the supporters boisterous and the competition tough.

France 2 - Albania 0
Goals from Ribery and Benzema

Allez Les Bleus!!!